Veteran journalist, who wrote a must-read television column for the Sydney Morning Herald, has died.
Veteran journalist David Dale, who wrote a must-read television column for the Sydney Morning Herald, has died, aged 77.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports he died at Chris O’Brien’s Lifehouse, following illness.
Born in 1948 in Sydney he graduated in psychology at University of Sydney before taking up a
Herald cadetship. He did was a political reporter on The Australian but returned to Fairfax where he worked on the National Times and The Sun-Herald before rejoining his old masthead in 1981.
His daily column Stay In Touch mixed fact, fiction, satire, gossip and humour, leading to
New York as the Herald’s correspondent and then the editorship of Kerry Packer’s Bulletin magazine. But Packer did not welcome his Bulletin cover story “Australia’s 100 most appalling people”, which drove up circulation, because many were Packer’s friends.
Later at SMH he penned culture column The Tribal Mind which religiously dissected television ratings and trends, becoming a must-read for industry and television fans alike… as well as nearly 20 books on travel and food.
He also worked as a broadcaster for ABC radio and 2GB Sydney and became a journalism lecturer at the University of Technology, Sydney and the University of NSW.
Richard Glover, whodid a weekly segment on his breakfast show as “Mr Magazines” also featured Dale as a TV critic on his ABC Drive show.
He told TV Tonight, “David was one of Australia’s greatest wits – absolutely in the tradition of Clive James or Barry Humphries. He was brilliant at popping pomposity – skewering those from the top end of town, and others who might have tickets on themselves. He had a lovely writing style, on display particularly in the Stay In Touch column, in which had would take the sort of tiny, odd stories that others might throw in the bin, and turn them into sparkling, hilarious prose. Who can forget, for instance, his habit of reporting news from New Zealand while using a Kiwi accent.
“Later he saved The Bulletin, before being punished by Kerry Packer for doing just what he’d been hired to do.
“When he finally came to radio, he took to it instantly – creating an enormous sense of fun and listener connection on the ABC Sydney breakfast show.
“He was a great person to share food with, always knowledgeable but with a generous eye and a delight in the people who’d brought such terrific food to Australia. It was David who first taught me that, when three or four people are dinning, you must always share the dishes. That way you have the chance to taste more of what the kitchen could do. Which is merely showing respect to the chef.
“Everyone who knew him, will miss him so much.”
Debi Enker, from The Age Green Guide said, “David Dale was a distinctive and valuable cultural commentator: witty and perceptive, he reliably offered a fresh take on well-trodden terrain.”
Victoria Buchan, Nine’s former Director of Communications also recalls, “I was lucky enough to learn and discover the joys of Italian food and the long lunch with David in the 1980s. Memories of his passion, joy and endless ability to dissect a dish, construct a menu and entertain still bring a smile to me. I treasure his cookbook from Pulchinella and will make a favorite dish to share in his honor this weekend.
“David was a journalist I admired and respected he inspired so many to write critically and with humour – a trailblazer for many who followed.”
….I think I only met DD once, but loved to read The Tribal Mind. A great connoisseur of all things televisual. Farewell.